Netflix has acquired the rights to Danny Boyle’s Ink.
Ink follows Rupert Murdoch's attempts to make The Sun a must-read and a rival to the Daily Mirror, leading to the rise in British tabloid journalism and stars Guy Pearce in the lead role.
Following the news that the movie – which also stars Jack O’Connell and Claire Foy – will have its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival in September, it was revealed that Netflix has acquired the US and Latin American rights to the film, Variety reports.
Speaking about the movie, Boyle said: “Long before Fox News, click bait, and Truth Social; decades before Twitter, Facebook, Google Only Fans, these two men created a new tabloid which against all the odds became the biggest selling newspaper in the world. Cheeky, Irreverent, daring: The super soaraway Sun challenged the establishment and remade our world for the modern era.”
According to the logline, Ink is “an explosive cinematic rollercoaster about a group of visionaries and misfits who had an idea for a new kind of news - one that would give the people what they want and would change the face of the world we live in today”.
While Pearce stars as media mogul Murdoch, Jack O'Connell plays Larry Lamb, who was hired to run The Sun newspaper when Murdoch purchased it in 1969.
The Crown actress Claire Foy plays Jules Davies – the wife of controversial editor Lamb.
The movie is based on a play by James Graham, who has also adapted the screenplay for the big screen.
Danny has reteamed with his Slumdog Millionaire producer Tessa Ross on the project, with Michael Ellenberg and Tracey Seaward producing, and Tonia Davis executive producing.
Danny enjoyed his big career breakthrough with Trainspotting in 1996.
The director helmed the gritty drugs drama - which starred the likes of Ewan McGregor, Jonny Lee Miller and Robert Carlyle - but never imagined that the movie would become such a huge success.
He previously told The Hollywood Reporter: "I remember there was a wave of disapproval of it building. They had shown a trailer or something on one of the TV movie shows here. And one of the prestigious critics said, 'Well, that looks shockingly irresponsible about drugs.' Things like that were building.
"And then there was this journalist, Muriel Gray, and she wrote this piece about Irvine’s [Welsh] book, and about the film. She spoke with authority saying, 'You do not know what you are talking about,' all these people piling disapproval on top of it. It was a tipping point."
Danny relished the experience of working with Ewan on Trainspotting, remembering that the actor was "fanatical" about his role.
The director said: "His agents were putting him in period romances, for which it was perfect. And he shaved it off before we’d offered him the part of Renton in Trainspotting. He shaved it off and lost weight. And then he continued to lose weight. He was fanatical about that. And he was right."
